Buckhannon City Council moves forward with two property purchases

Beth Christian Broschart
January 30, 2022

BUCKHANNON – The City of Buckhannon has been looking at two properties to purchase, and during a special city council meeting held Thursday morning, members voted to move forward with both agreements.

One property will be used for the new Stockert Youth and Community Center gym, while the other is adjacent to the former Chase drive-thru lot that is now owned by the city.

Council voted unanimously to approve Ordinance No. 455 authorizing the purchase of 61 E. Main on its second and final reading. Members also approved a purchase agreement with the property owner at 10 E. Lincoln St. for the purchase of a 43’ X 58’ section located at the rear of the property; however, this approval is subject to bank approval before proceeding.

Council members present during the Thursday special meeting included city recorder Randy Sanders (who presided over the meeting), CJ Rylands and Shelia Lewis-Sines — who all appeared in person — and Jack Reger, who joined by phone.

Buckhannon City Attorney Thomas O’Neill, who attended the special meeting remotely, said Ordinance 455 for the purchase of 61 E. Main St. in Buckhannon was on its second reading.

“This ordinance authorizes the expenditure of $150,000 of municipal funds for this purchase,” O’Neill said. “These are for the lots for the Stockert addition. This is the second of two readings.”

The ordinance was approved unanimously.

During the Nov. 4, 2021, Buckhannon City Council meeting, members had approved the agreement that would authorize the city’s purchase of the property at 61 E. Main Street, owned by Catherine Cuppari for $150,000. At that meeting, Buckhannon Mayor Robbie Skinner said purchasing the tract would allow the new SYCC multi-purpose gymnasium complex to be constructed outside of the floodplain.

The second item of business on Thursday’s agenda was the approval of a purchase agreement with the property owner of 10 E. Lincoln Street for a 43’ x 58” section of land for $10,000. O’Neill said the purchase/sale agreement is one that has been revised.

“This is subject to bank approval, so we are still very early in the process,” O’Neill said. “Once we have this agreement approved and executed, then we can proceed. The survey is already in progress, but we will also need to have a reappraisal of the property to give assurance to the bank that the value of the remaining property is still sufficient to collateralize the existing mortgage.”

O’Neill explained it was a ‘necessary step’ but said there is still a long way to go before the process is complete.

“This is a revised agreement,” O’Neill said. “We had an agreement when we were looking at purchasing the entire property, but this is a modified agreement for the purchase of just a small portion of the backyard.”